Tag: Victoria Falls

Wild Horizons is pleased to announce that we have been awarded the BEST GROUND HANDLER in 2017, by AZTA (Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents) for the 6th consecutive year. Wild Horizons provides a complete range of Activities, Attractions, Transfers, Accommodation and a Café in Victoria Falls. We are the lead provider of adventure activities such as white water rafting and gorge swings. We operate tours that range from cultural excursions, wildlife viewing and ethical wildlife interactions to tailor made experiences for corporate and incentive groups.

We offer transfers throughout the Victoria Falls area for guests from a single person to large corporate & incentive groups. Wild Horizons manages four unique lodges. The Elephant Camp, The Elephant Camp West, Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge and Old Drift Lodge. Wild Horizons also owns and manages The Lookout Café in Victoria Falls.

We also received the Best Tour Operator’s stand award at the Sanganai / Hlanganani – World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair, 2017. The award celebrates the Wild Horizons portfolio including our social responsibility and promoting richness in cultural diversity (through various cultural tours – Cultural Connections, Meet the People, Home Hosted Meals, Pay it Forward to mentioned but a few). Tours focused on support of orphanages in Victoria Falls such as Rose of Charity as well as school tours were recognized.

Sanganai / Hlanganani – World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair celebrated its 10th anniversary with 206 buyers and 300 exhibitors’ the most attended since its inception!

For Fun, Just Add Water (Low water vs High water rafting)

Richard Bangs once wrote that wild rivers are the earth’s renegades, defying gravity and dancing to their own tunes. Your first glimpse at the raging rapids that roll and churn down the Zambezi awaken the adventurer inside you, taunting you and seducing you. They beckon with their tremulous arms, teasing with their spurts of white water and daring you with their coiling waves.

The Zambezi is a moving, breathing part of the earth. It is the vein through which life flows and thrusts. Every stroke of your paddle takes you further than a vehicle on the road ever could. They say the first river you raft runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in you, the memories swirling like eddies in the pit of your stomach each time you remember it. The Zambezi morphs in shape and stature when the water levels drop or rise, yet each experience is exhilarating in its own way because life is simple- For fun, just add water.

When water levels drop, thrill levels soar. Between August and December, the river seems to be racing itself, plunging furiously between the lips of the gorge, cascading dramatically around very boulder and corner. It toys with the rafts with such precision, that every flip seems pre-meditated. During this time, expeditions begin at rapid number 1, the “Boiling Pot”. You take off from the white water rafting factory- the base of the Victoria Falls. The roar of the river diving down 100 meters of black basalt rock creates an ambience of adventure, purring at your inner adrenaline junkie. If you are after a heart racing, eye widening, and mind blowing rafting trip, then low water is what you need, and you have between August and December to get it.

During the high water seasons (January, February, March, May, June, July), gallons of water crash down the Victoria Falls, streaming into the thirsty gorge, and flooding the rocks and outcrops that form the rapids. When you dip your fingertips in to rippling water, you touch the last of what has gone before, and the first of what is still to come. At these times of the year, the river is more subdued, relaxing after a thunderous low water race. However, the sheer volume of water makes the first ten rapids unrunnable, and thus rafters will only tackle rapid 11 (The Over lander Eater) through to number 23 (The Morning Shave). As the water levels continue to creep higher and higher around March, rafters respectfully leave the Zambezi to her own devices, until they drop again around June.

The Zambezi was designed by the dare devil in Mother Nature, and there is no theme park in the world that could ever compete. Contrary to popular belief, the river is not one long, frothing rapid. The “Devils Toilet Bowl”, “The Stairway to Heaven” and “Mothers Revenge” (just to name a few) spring before you in short, dramatic bursts.

The stretch of water between them is gentle and smooth- the calm before the storm. They are just long enough to allow you to drink in the incredible scenery and let the sun soak up the water on your skin. The soft slosh of water against the rafts is accompanied by exhilarated shouts and laughs that bounce off the walls of the gorge, as euphoric rafters share their stories and psych up for the next roller coaster. Cruising down this channel of water feels like cruising through a postcard. The most experienced photo editor in the world couldn’t enhance the beauty of the looming gorge stretching to meet the brilliant blue sky. Paddling through an exquisite crevice in the earth, flanked by indigenous flora and passing by inquisitive fauna, is humbling and breath taking in the same moment.
The Zambezi Low Water Rafting Season is finally here! LOW WATER rafting commenced 3 August 2017. Take on the Zambezi with Wild Horizons and the finest crew on the river – Africa’s Greatest Adventures!

Africa is a nation rich in a diversity of flavour, and as Virginia Woolf so adequately said: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well”. The Elephant Camp is committed to providing guests with a delicious cuisine that celebrates our bounty of fresh local produce, ensuring that every meal is an experience to be remembered and revered.

Dean Jones, Wild Horizons’ Executive Chef, based at The Elephant Camp, recognises that food is more than just a meal, but an art in the most delicious form. He believes that “being a chef is an expression of character, passion, creativity and love”. Dean did his culinary training at Silwood School of Cookery in Cape Town, which is highly acclaimed for its three-year Grande Diploma Course. However, it was while watching his mother prepare sweet and savoury snacks for functions as a young boy that his seeds of passion were sown. He soon recognised food as a way of bringing people together and expressing himself through the different flavour profiles in each meal.

During his culinary training, Dean was taught the fundamentals of French Cooking. Throughout his first year, he mastered the techniques that would come to define, and radiate, through his expertly accomplished dishes. During his second year, Dean spent two months in five different kitchen environments, where he gained valuable experience working at several reputable restaurants, including The Conservatory at The Cellars Hohenourt, Myoga Restaurant at the Vineyard Hotel in Claremont, and The Foodbarn in Noordhoek. Dean’s innovative and creative recipe development and food styling skills can be attributed to his time spent with Abigail Donnelly at the Woolworths Taste Magazine.

In the April of 2016, Dean was selected as a semi-finalist out of tens of thousands of chefs from around the world in a global competition called The San Pellergrino Young Chefs Award. Due to this Global competition, at the age of 30, Dean was recognised as one of the worlds ‘up-and-coming’ young chefs.

If food is the body of good living, then wine is the soul. Under the guidance of Chef Margot Janse at Le Quartier Francais’s The Tasting Room in the beautiful Cape Winelands of Franschhoek, Dean gained valuable knowledge about the process of tasting wine, as well as the winemakers themselves. Dean will introduce and execute decadent Wine & Coffee pairings, as well as High Tea & Champagne pairings that are sure to exhilarate our flow of international clientele. Having been motivated by a variety of multi-talented and well-renown chefs, Dean is now striving to be the type of food connoisseur that future diners and chefs are inspired by.

Dean has a passion for pastry that arose while he spent time in his Ouma’s bakery as a young boy. Through his flaky phyllo pastry, tantalising tarts, and buttery crisp croissants, Dean’s freshly baked menu achieves a wow factor in textures, flavours and presentation. American humorist Erma Brombeck was right when she told the world: “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.” It will take a strong-willed person to wave away Dean’s pastry display.

The concept of travelling is infused with the aromas and tastes of each place that we visit, and in order to truly absorb a culture, we need to savour the delicacies that the region has to offer. The meals devised by Dean are well worth travelling for.

Happiness is derived from good food, good music and good wine, all three of which Dean has a well-nurtured passion for. His creativity in the kitchen shapes food artistry that introduces diners to new sensations, cultures and tastes.

“Life is made up of many wonderful, colourful people, and food has a way of bringing cultures, families and friends together. It has the ability to induce nostalgia, calm, healing and peace.” – Dean Jones.

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Zimbabwe Council for Tourism Achievers’ Awards Event 2018 A total of 19 awards were handed out at the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism Achievers’ Awards event, attended by the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality, Prisca Mupfumira, and about 200 travel and tour operators, government officials and media personalities. The awards were created to reward and recognis […]

Five Minutes with Mi Casa – Victoria Falls Carnival 2017 From the 29th of December until well into the early hours of the 31st, the atmosphere in Victoria Falls is electric, as though the very air with breathe is quivering with the excitement Carnival goers feel. Music vibrates through crowds of dancing bodies, the bar … Continue reading Mi Casa – Victoria F […]

Vanity Fair, March 2018. We are proud to be featured in this progressive, positive article in Vanity Fair, March 2018. The story features the Wild Horizons Elephant Sanctuary at The Elephant Camp and highlights the positive impact the Tourism Industry and Responsible Travel can have on conservation.

Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge – Your Ideal Family Getaway Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge has been peacefully planted within the jaws of the wilderness. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you may miss this natural oasis that erupts between the navy stretch of the Zambezi River and the towering trees in the National … Continue reading Imbabala Safari […]